With the Clemson offense settling for field goals, Jahiem Lawson took matters into his own hands at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday. The senior defensive end scooped up a ruled lateral pass from Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli and rumbled 22 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.
Kicker Nolan Hauser added four field goals, as Clemson topped the Orange 18-13.
Quarterback Tait Reynolds, who used his legs last week to beat Florida State with a 79-yard TD run, used his legs again in the dome. Though he did not rumble 79 yards for a TD this time, he did rumble 10 yards on key third-and-eight from the Clemson 27 for a first down with 2:43 to play. He then ran 13 yards for a another first down after the two-minute timeout to seal the Tigers’ victory.
Reynolds finished the afternoon 17 of 28 for 161 yards and one interception. He also ran for 61 more yards on 15 carries.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- With the win, Dabo Swinney became the winningest coach in ACC history, earning his 118th ACC regular season win. He is already the winningest coach in the ACC overall.
- Saturday marked the first time since 2023, Clemson won a game without scoring an offensive touchdown. That came against rival South Carolina. It is just the second time that has happened in the last 10 years.
- Clinging to a 12-6 lead in the third quarter, Clemson defensive tackle Kourtney Kelly ran into the back of Angeli causing the Orange quarterback to throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage. Lawson, who was given chase on the ball, stayed with it, scooped it and rumbled the remaining 22 yards to give the Tigers an 18-6 lead with 6:39 to play in the quarter.
- The defense came up big again in the fourth quarter. With Syracuse facing third-and-goal at the Clemson three-yard line. The Tigers pressured Angeli to the outside where he tried to throw the ball to the back of the end zone. However, cornerback Ashton Hampton was waiting for the ball, as he picked it off to end the Orange threat an preserve the Clemson lead with 6:03 to play.
- Hauser made four field goals of 32, 36, 37 and 54 yards. The last one tied Clemson’s single season record for field goals. It was his 27th of the season on 29 attempts. The 54-yard field goal also set the Clemson record for most 50-yard plus field goals made in a single season. His four 50-yard plus field goals broke Chris Gardocki’s original record of three in 1990. Richard Jackson (2009) and B.T. Potter (2019) also had three 50-yard plus made field goals in a season.
- Clemson opened the game with a 53-yard Jarvis Green run. He carried the ball two more times on the drive and then did not get another carry the rest of the first half. The drive ended with a Hauser field goal.
- Reynolds found Wesco for a 53-yard bomb on the Tigers’ second possession. It also ended with a Hauser field goal.
- Hauser connected on field goals of 32, 36 and 37 yards to give the Tigers a 9-6 halftime lead. He was short on a 57-yard field goal, just his second miss of the season.
- Angeli finally got the Orange into the end zone when he found tight end Bracheyie for a 33-yard TD with 3:12 to play in the game.
- It was a bad day for Angeli overall. Besides the fumble and the interception, he completed just 18 of 40 passes for 263 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception.
- The Tigers were just 1-for-7 on third down in the first half.
- Clemson’s defense sacked Angeli twice in the first half and got tons of pressure on him, which affected the way he threw the ball. The Syracuse quarterback was 10 of 24 for 129 yards and was off the mark several times.
- Clemson finished the game with three sacks and six tackles for loss.
- The offensive line, which was playing with a new starter at center and a new starter at left guard, gave up three sacks, none in the second half, and allowed just six tackles behind the line.
- The Tigers ran for 162 yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return home to Memorial Stadium next Saturday when they host Georgia Tech for a 12:30 start.
—photo courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications